Many reviews describe poor frontline conduct, with staff ignoring customers, heavy-handed security, and incidents customers felt were humiliating. Complaints often focus on high prices in travel and hospital branches and on being charged incorrectly at the till. Product concerns include food safety and stationery quality, such as out-of-date sandwiches and diary paper so thin that ink bleeds through. A smaller number of reviews praise named staff for quick, helpful service and fast fixes.
Examples from available reviews (Oct 2022 – Mar 2026).
Assistant Tom went above and beyond to find a missing Peppa Pig book.
“he was very polite and went above and beyond to find the book for me”
Accused of stealing and detained without explanation or apology.
“Accused me and my friend of stealing”
Items at airport branches are at least 33% more expensive.
“WHSmith in airports is a rip off”
Was charged multiple unauthorised amounts and still awaits refund.
“they still refuse to refund and say it's my bank's fault that they charged me 3 times”
Frontline conduct stands out as the main negative theme. Reviewers describe being ignored, spoken to abruptly or aggressively, accused of theft, and handled harshly by security. A smaller but steady set of reviews names staff who offered polite, proactive help and resolved problems quickly.
Many complaints focus on pricing, especially in travel, airport, and hospital branches. Reviewers mention premium mark-ups, items ringing up higher than the shelf price, and sale items scanning at full price. A few note fair convenience pricing, but those comments are rare.
In-store frustrations include long queues, too few staff, and, at times, branches that look dirty or poorly stocked. Digital and payment-flow issues come up less often, but include Reserve & Collect not working at Gatwick and trouble verifying online accounts. When they happen, these problems add to the in-store friction.
Several reviews point to defects and freshness issues, including diary paper so thin it causes ink bleed and sandwiches sold past their date. Customers also mention low-quality ready meals and packaging. Electronics and other return-related issues appear too, but less often.
Problems around refunds, cancelled pre-orders, and unauthorised charges come up repeatedly. Reviewers describe slow or no replies from customer service and payment disputes that stayed unresolved. A smaller number mention non-returnable e-gift cards and return policies they found unclear.
Most reviews describe negative experiences linked to staff behaviour, pricing, and product problems. Positive comments tend to centre on specific employees who fixed issues quickly or delivered standout service. Reviews show a sharp split between frequent poor store interactions and fewer strong positives.
For each review, the core experience based on original source reviews.
Sources: Trustpilot (40) · Reviews (20) · Reviews (1) · Quotes shortened · As of: March 2026
Assistants ignored a waiting customer while discussing scratchcards.
“Totally ignoring the fact that I was a customer waiting to be served”
Assistant Tom went above and beyond to find a missing Peppa Pig book.
“he was very polite and went above and beyond to find the book for me”
Charged £5.50 for a meal deal in a hospital with no discount.
“Charging £5.50 for a meal deal in a Hospital”
Items at airport branches are at least 33% more expensive.
“WHSmith in airports is a rip off”
Charged £1.50 more than the shelf price for a sandwich.
“I was charged £1.50 more for a sandwich than the price displayed on the shelf”
2026 diary has inconsistent weekly page layout and poor quality control.
“one of the days each week has less lineage to write in than the other 6”
2026 diaries use thin paper causing ink bleed through.
“the pages are so thin that ink bleed through has become a big problem”
Bought an egg and mayo sandwich that was poor quality at services.
“poor quality of their products”
Apps, web portals and 'Reserve & Collect' at Gatwick are non-functional.
“Don't trust their 'Reserve & Collect' system—it’s broken.”
Sale items scanned at full price of £3.99 despite discount.
“each card went through at £3.99”
Sale items still scanned at £3.99 despite advertised 75% off.
“each card went through at £3.99”
Charges premium prices yet offers a budget shopping experience.
“They charge premium prices for a budget shopping experience.”
Poor queue management and long waits at the Taunton store.
“There is no queuing system here in the Taunton store.”
Two £100 gift cards were already redeemed and store refused assistance.
“I bought 2 ,X100 POUNDS GIFT CARDS AND THEY HAD BOTH BEEN REDEEMED..”
Charged £3.99 for a Fanta with no nearby alternatives for travellers.
“£3.99 for a Fanta”
Sasha provided outstanding, super friendly customer service.
“Outstanding customer service from Sasha.”
Attendant refused to provide a bag for sanitary items, citing expensive customers.
“she said she was keeping them for 100 euro customers”
Roxanne provided excellent service despite station manager's rude treatment.
“The service from Roxanne was excellent”
Bought a gift card yesterday and it arrived the next day.
“Bought gift card yesterday arrived today wonderful service”
Cork branch overpriced with 4 euro water and understaffing issues.
“4 euro bottle of water”
Security aggressively questioned and embarrassed a customer in store.
“security man, aggressively questioning me”
Staff aggressively told customer to queue elsewhere after returning to hand parcel.
“The staff at TG Jones were shockingly rude and unprofessional.”
Staff handled a found phone rudely at Dublin Airport store.
“he just snatched it off me without saying a word”
Bought a sandwich five days out of date and met rude staff.
“sandwich which was 5 days OUT OF DATE”
Staff were insulting and humiliating during a purchase, causing distress.
“I felt so humiliated disgusted disrespected embarrassed”
Assistant accused customer of scamming and phone complaint was hung up.
“overheard the assistant say is she a scammer”
Assistant responded haughtily and deterred purchase of an adaptor.
“You ask me to get it for you but usually people say hello first”
A recurring staff member spoke curtly and made customer uncomfortable.
“her manner was curt, and gave me the impression of hostility”
Staff refused to serve and were needlessly argumentative at Heathrow.
“Staff refused to serve me despite machine working”
Pre-order refunded unexpectedly and customer service could not resolve it.
“I then received another email stating that my whole order had been cancelled!”
Paid £7.50 for water and a soft drink at the airport.
“cost me £7:50 absolute rip off”
Was charged multiple unauthorised amounts and still awaits refund.
“they still refuse to refund and say it's my bank's fault that they charged me 3 times”
Extremely high prices charged for single jiffy bags and envelopes.
“£7.25 for one single brown jiffy bag”
A staff member was texting and treated queuing customers disrespectfully.
“Standing texting on her phone while there is a queue”
Accused of stealing and detained without explanation or apology.
“Accused me and my friend of stealing”
Charged excessive prices for drinks and snacks at Manchester airport.
“£4.19 for a 500ml diet coke”
Long queues, understaffing, missing stock and broken equipment at Maidenhead.
“Always big queues limited staff, unavailable staff, stock that should be there missing”
Store manager made derogatory comments leaving toddler upset and customer furious.
“receiving derogatory comments from the store manager today”
Charged £4.49 for a small Ribena at Manchester airport.
“Went to buy a Ribena small drink at Manchester airport £4.49!!!!”
Customer service resolved elderly mother's voucher issue within 24 hours.
“problem was solved within 24 hours. Amazing service”
This page combines submitted experiences with public reviews from platforms such as Google, Trustpilot, etc. Recurring points are summarised without changing the content of reviews.
WHSmith is a UK retail chain selling books, newspapers, magazines, stationery, travel essentials, and convenience food. It runs high-street shops and travel outlets in UK and international airports and railway stations. WHSmith also sells books, stationery, and gift cards online, with services such as click & collect and in-store gift card sales. The business supplies corporate and travel retail customers and provides customer service for orders, refunds, and enquiries.